Tag Archives: susan krinard

Don’t confuse Point of View w/ things that have nothing to do with POV: writing in past or present tense, using flashbacks or foreshadowing, good character development or realistic dialogue. None of those is POV & POV is not concerned w/ those separate writing issues #WritingTipspic.twitter.com/XlheSGvV9c

Don’t confuse literary Point of View with people expressing different opinions in real life. In writing, different characters’ views of the same events is Perspective, not POV. Point of View is HOW something is written, and there are very few POVs in writing. #WritingTips

Don’t confuse POV with how emotionally connected (or distant) your readers feel to your characters. If you have character development, your readers will get attached to your characters no matter what POV you’ve written the book in, as evidenced by many classics. #WritingTips

Don’t confuse POV with how emotionally connected (or distant) your readers feel to your characters. If you have character development, your readers will get attached to your characters no matter what POV you’ve written the book in, as evidenced by many classics. #WritingTips

First Person POV, in grammatical 1st person (I, we). The only POV with a narrator. Everything in the story is LIMITED to what the narrator thinks, feels, etc and what s/he can observe about other characters’ actions/behavior. Narrators can be reliable or unreliable. #WritingTips

Inner Limited POV, in grammatical 3rd person (he, she, it, they). LIMITED to the INNER life (thoughts, feelings, motivations) of ONE character (or 1 character at a time, different sections). Similar to First Person POV limitations but creates more emotional distance. #WritingTips

Second Person POV, in grammatical 2nd person (you), directly addresses a “you” but NOT in dialogue. The default audience for “you” is the reading audience, and it is always up to the author to make it clear who is being directly addressed if it is NOT the readers. #WritingTips

Outer Limited Point of View, written in the grammatical 3rd person (he, she, it, they), is LIMITED to the OUTER life of ALL the characters in the story. Sometimes called the “camera” or “fly on the wall” POV. The most challenging POV for any author to master. #WritingTips

Outer Limited POV only reveals the external, observable behaviors of ALL the characters in the work. NO thoughts, feelings, motivations, or memories are revealed to readers unless they are expressed in dialogue, letters, etc to other characters at the same time. #WritingTips

To write in Multiple Points of View, you must know the difference between Perspective and Point of View in literature and writing. Point of View is HOW something is written. Perspective gives different views or versions of the events in story. Perspective is not POV #WritingTips

If you have 3 different characters telling their version of the story, each in a different section, each operating as a narrator, i.e., in First Person POV (written in grammatical 1st person: I, we), you have ONE POV in book, but 3 different Perspectives of events. #WritingTips

Epistolary novels, in which all characters communicate through letters, present the story through several characters’ letters to each other, each writing in First Person POV, with each letter writer as narrator while reader is reading his/her letter. That is ONE POV #WritingTips

If your narrator finds a diary of some ancient relative and reads the story of the diary writer’s life, in which the diary writer is the narrator of that life, both sections are written in First Person POV. It is not Multiple POVs. #WritingTips

To write in Multiple POVs, you must change HOW the work is written. You must use more than one POV (e.g., First Person and Inner Limited, First Person and Second Person, First Person and Unlimited, First Person and Second Person and Unlimited, etc). #WritingTips

If you choose to write in Multiple Points of View, you must have a good reason for it, & each different POV must be successfully written or your readers will think you don’t know what you’re doing. Readers are very sophisticated: they know when you make mistakes #WritingTips

To successfully write in Multiple POVs, you should first read books that successfully use Multiple POVs. Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, for instance, has 3 First Person POV sections followed by a section in Unlimited POV = multiple Perspectives AND Multiple POVs #WritingTips

Crime fiction often has Multiple POVs. Inner Limited POV (he, she, it, they) is LIMITED to INNER life of 1 character, creating emotional distance. Crime writers use this POV for victims or killers or both, and use Unlimited POV or First Person POV for protagonist(s). #WritingTips

Tammy Hoag very skillfully uses Inner Limited POV for criminals/killers and for their victims, each in a separate chapter so readers do not get confused, and Unlimited POV for the crime fighters and investigators in Ashes to Ashes. #WritingTips

Crime writer Anne Frasier does the unexpected in her novel Play Dead, using Inner Limited POV for crime fighters (not First Person POV), anyone related to crime fights, & victims. She uses First Person POV for a serial killer, making that Perspective more “intimate.”#WritingTips

Despite the myth of “you can’t use more than one POV in a book,” Multiple POVs have been successfully used by many authors in many genres since fiction writing began. You can write in as many POVs as you wish in the same work, as long as you make all clear to readers #WritingTips

Remember that if you are using more than one POV, you must make it clear to your readers what you are doing and WHY you are doing it. Separate sections with different POVs or otherwise make it very clear to readers that you are changing POV.#WritingTips

Lapsing from chosen POV = author unintentionally makes mistake. Hemingway, who often wrote in Outer Limited (he called it “fly on the wall”) occasionally lapses e.g., writing “He saw the train” since that POV cannot reveal what characters see, only what they say/do. #WritingTips

Patricia Cornwell often lapses from First Person POV in the Kay Scarpetta novels: whenever Cornwell as the author tells readers something that ALL the characters already know, e.g., the meaning of VICAP, she lapses from her chosen POV. #WritingTips

If you use Multiple POVs, readers must feel that the work is enriched by these different POVs. They should not be confused and wonder what on earth you are doing. They may wonder why you changed POVs, but, if it’s well written, they should be able to figure out WHY. #WritingTips

An author CHOOSES which Point of View s/he wishes to write in. Only Unlimited POV has NO limitations to the information an author provides to readers. All other POVs are limited in some way. By choosing a POV other than Unlimited, an author agrees to its limitations. #WritngTips

All writing has POV, no matter the type — poetry, fiction, nonfiction — or genre within each type — fantasy, science fiction, literary, romance, action/adventure, etc — and you should be aware of POV itself AND of most common POV in the type/genre you’re writing. #WritingTips

Although all types and genres of writing are done in all the various POVs, some POVs show up more regularly in certain genres, e.g., Unlimited in historical fiction or science fiction since the author must give readers more information the characters already know. #WritingTips

If you choose to write your work in a POV that is not expected in that type/genre, your readers will be automatically “on guard” because you have gone against their expectations: you must be doubly sure that your chosen POV is done carefully AND successfully. #WritingTips

Any time you write in Multiple POVs, you are challenging your readers to both read the story AND to notice HOW the story is written. Multiple POVs challenge readers: it forces them to be more conscious of its artistry. They can’t skim or watch TV while reading.#WritingTips

If you write in Multiple POVs, readers are forced to be more conscious of HOW you are writing the story. Conscious readers are more “critical” readers: if you lapse from your POV, they’ll know it. If you confuse readers, they’ll be annoyed & leave bad reviews. #WritingTips

If you want to write a work in Multiple POVs, make sure you have mastered each individual POV before attempting to combine them. Some POVs are naturally easier than others (Unlimited, First Person, Second Person) and some are dreadfully challenging (Outer Limited). #WritingTips

If you want to write in Multiple POVs, you need to be hyperconscious of the LIMITATIONS of each individual POV since all POVs are LIMITED in some way except for Unlimited POV, hence its name. #WritingTips

Never assume you know more about POV than your readers: there are many writers, authors, critics, literature majors & professors who read books in many genres & these people know POV. If you use Multiple POVs, they’ll certainly know what you’re doing right AND wrong. #WritingTips

Want no limits whatsoever to the information you present to your readers, including all characters’ thoughts, feelings, motivations, as well as your own moral judgments on all your characters? Then you want Unlimited Point of View. https://t.co/3kO8aslkUb

Want a narrator to tell the story? You want First Person Point of View, which limits all the information in the story to narrator’s internal life (thoughts, feelings, etc) and to what the narrator can observe of other characters’ actions. #WritingTipshttps://t.co/pPSstrcf6r …

Want to limit the story to the inner life of one character (or one character at a time, in different sections)? Want more emotional distance between readers and character than First Person POV provides? You want Inner Limited POV. #WritingTipshttps://t.co/Hl9IKxDP5u

Want to address the readers (or someone else who is external to the story) directly, or want the narrator to address someone (in or out of the story) directly and NOT in dialogue? Then you want Second Person POV, even if it’s only temporarily. #WritingTipshttps://t.co/2Ye2xVURlF

Want to pretend you’re behind a camera filming your characters without VoiceOver, never showing any of their inner lives, and limiting everything to what can be observed or heard? You want Outer Limited POV, the most challenging POV.#WritingTipshttps://t.co/56E7PLOFUG

Want to grow artistically or use other POVs in order to get over writer’s block or determine which POV would best suit your work? You want to try multiple POVs, making sure you master each individual POV before you try combining them. Good luck and Happy Writing! #WritingTips

Newton Love’s Books

My Most Fave Authors, Writers, and Bloggers & a Podcast

Rachel in the OC
by CSA survivor and advocate Rachel Thompson, on surviving, preventing, and spreading the word about Childhood Sexual Abuse

Migraine Mantras
articles on migraine, chronic pain, chronic illness, holistic health, alternative medicine, exercise, mindfulness, and meditation, all written by people who live with invisible illness and who advocate for themselves and others

Lydia Schoch
one of the best blogs with an amazing variety of topics, from the Zen of medical tests to her weekly Suggestion Saturdays and Saturday Seven, which feature fascinating blogs and websites

The Bloggess
by bestselling author Jenny Lawson, on depression, marriage, lawn-gerbils, and other random absurdities of life

BrainPickings
one of the most diligently researched blogs I've ever found, written by Maria Popova, it covers writers, artists, books, and all things wonderfully intellectual and artistic

Historical, People & Fiction

Mimi Matthews
a marvelous blog on all things Victorian, from clothes and pets to personalities and other authors who write books and blogs on the same time period

A Writer's Perspectiveby April Munday, with well-researched posts on all things Medieval, from the weight of armor and the mobility of the knights wearing it to what peasants really ate and how they got betrothed and married

Barking Up The Wrong Treeby Eric Barker, with researched posts on living your life better with the principles of meditation, Stoicism, and mindfulness, and more

Raptitudeby David Cain, with an emphasis on meditation, mindfulness, and living life more fully

Elaine Mansfield
with a tagline "Grief is a Sacred Journey," this blog poignantly discusses grieving, mindfulness, Buddhism, and beginning life again after tragedy makes you think it's ended

Writing, Publishing, Marketing

Bad Redhead Media
also run by Rachel Thompson, with an emphasis on helping writers and other small business owners master social media

Red Pen of Doom
by speechwriter and author Guy Bergstrom, who posts on everything writing, to help screenwriters, novelists, and journalists, along with great Red-Pen-skewering of books and videos, as well as frequent instructions on how to survive an apocalypse

Anne R Allen
by authors Anne R. Allen and Ruth Harris, with an emphasis on posts to help writers with everything from writing the first draft to revising, from self-publishing and marketing to social media and handling reviews

Writing and Wellness
by Colleen M. Story, and frequently featuring guest posts by authors, this blog covers everything concerning writers and their health, psychological and physical, from easing back pain to increasing creativity

A Writer's Ramblings
by Victoria Griffin, this blog covers everything writing, from first drafts and revisions to editing

Terry Tyler
by an author for other authors and writers, with an emphasis on posts to help writers with everything from writing, revising, and social media

Sheri McInnis
by a traditionally and Indie published author who is also a book coach, with posts on everything for writers, from agents to addiction

My Most Fave Podcast, by a Great Writer (Drew) & Sleep-Inducing Performer (Scooter)

Sleep With Me Podcast
written by Drew Ackerman, and performed by Drew as "Dearest Scooter," this brilliant and popular podcast knocks out insomnia by lulling you to sleep with meandering introductions and ingeniously "boring" stories. Drew and Scooter also do the Game of Drones and Sleep to Strange podcasts

Migraine Mantras

Migraine Mantras on Twitter

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